DALRY and West Kilbride will be served by three independent councillors until May’s election after the SNP’s Catherine McMillan sensationally quit the party.

In the week that the SNP group have started to announce their candidates for the council elections, it has been revealed that the serving member has not been re-selected to stand.

And she won’t be seeking re-election as an Independent candidate.

Of the 12 candidates officially announced by the SNP so far, just three are currently sitting councillors and the total can only reach five out of 20 candidates.

An SNP spokesperson said: “Councillor McMillan has been a highly regarded member of the SNP group at North Ayrshire Council and has served her constituents in Dalry and West Kilbride with great distinction since 2012.

“In particular, Cathy has done sterling work on the various council committees that she has served on, including the Police and Fire and Rescue Committee, the Licensing Committee and Board, the Communities and Lifelong Learning Advisory Panel, and the Audit and Scrutiny Committee.

“Whilst Cathy has opted for personal reasons to see out her final weeks in this current council session as an independent councillor, we wish her well for the future.”

Cllr McMillan confirmed to the Herald that she would see out her time as a councillor as an Independent and that she would not be seeking re-election.

The two SNP candidates for the Dalry and West Kilbride ward have yet to be officially confirmed.

But one will almost certainly be Joy Brahim, who currently works as a senior caseworker for Kenneth Gibson MSP.